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Acer Aspire ES1-572-31KW Detailed Review on a budget Performer

Pros:

Intel Core i3

1 TB of storage

6.5 hour battery life

Ample connectivity

Cons:

5.3 pounds

4GB of RAM (upgradable)

It used to be that only laptops in the 350-450 dollar range would manage to pack an Intel Core i3 processor. However, Acer has once again turned the tables on us and has introduced an extremely budgeted device which packs said processor along with a slew of other features such as a 1TB storage unit, Intel HD 520 graphics card and quite a bit more.

All in all, in this review of the Acer Aspire ES1-572-31KW we'll see how this laptop is perfect for those looking to go ahead and buy a laptop that goes above and beyond the entry level specs while still maintaining a price that's more common to entry level models.

Entry level design

While the specs on the Acer Aspire ES1-572-31KW might go above and beyond that of an entry level notebook, we can't say the same about the design. A simple black design with a plastic cover and a chiclet keyboard are what this laptop has in terms of design.

The display, in this case, bodes a 15.6 inch diagonal with an HD resolution and CineCrystal technology. There's no touch capabilities to this model but, then again, not everyone actually wants a touch sensitive laptop (I know I don't).

Weight and thickness fall in line with most laptops in this size format, weighing 5.3 pounds and managing one inch of thickness.

We can't say we're particularly fond of the overall design of this machine, especially in terms of the display being that you could easily find a laptop with a Full HD display if you go ahead and increase your budget ever so slightly.

Acer Aspire ES1-572-31KW

Lenovo Thinkpad Yoga 11E-G3

Acer Aspire E 15 E5-575-33BM

15.6"

11.6"

11.6"(Full HD)

Intel Core i3 (2.3 GHz)

Intel Celeron (1.6 GHz)

Intel Core i3 (2.4 GHz)

4 GB

4 GB

4 GB

HDD
1000 GB

SDD
128 GB

HDD
1000 GB

5.29 Pounds

4.9 Pounds

5.3 Pounds

Wifi a/b/g/n/ac

USB 2.0

USB 3.0

Ethernet port

DVD reader

WiFi a/b/g/n/ac

USB 3.0

Ethernet port

WiFi a/b/g/n/ac

USB 2.0

USB 3.0

Ethernet port

DVD Reader

Intel HD 520

Intel HD Graphics

Intel HD Graphics 620

Mid-level performance

When it comes down to performance, the Acer Aspire ES1-572-31KW stands out from most laptops in its price range thanks to the aforementioned Intel Core i3-6100U dual core processor that works at a clock speed of 2.3 GHz with 3 MB of cache. Being a Core i3 model there's no turbo boost feature, such as the one you'd find on an i5 or i7.

Looking at the benchmarks for this processor, you've got a score of 3882, when compared to a 6th generation Core i5 with a score of 3981 we can appreciate that the difference in overall performance is not that great. In fact, the key differences between both of these models have more to do with the absence of the turbo boost feature and the managing of resources over actual performance.

What about RAM?

Moving onto RAM we've got a single 4GB DDR3L module. This might be cutting it a bit short for the more intensive multitasker. To that audience we've got good news: RAM is upgradable towards 16GB thanks to its two slots that take up to 8 GB modules each. Personally, I'd recommend investing in 8GB of RAM since the difference when multitasking will surely be very noticeable.

If you're a light user then you should probably wait to see how it does for you before taking the plunge.

What's storage like?

As for storage, we've got a 1TB hard drive Serial ATA that works at 5400 rpm. Obviously we would prefer a laptop that uses an SSD storage unit due to speed issues. That said, its understandable that a budget machine such as this one would not go in that direction.

Tell me about battery life and gaming capabilities

One thing I truly appreciate about Acer is that they've made a pretty big effort towards giving us long lasting batteries on their laptops and the Acer Aspire ES1-572-31KW is no exception to this. Specifically, we've got a 3220 mAh battery that can deliver up to 6.5 hours of autonomy away from a power plug.

Obviously 6.5 hours isn't all that great but that's where the processor comes in play. As we mentioned previously when talking about performance, an i5 would surely boost battery life towards the 9-10 hour mark but an i3 doesn't manage battery life as well.

When all is said and done, you should be able to expect roughly 5 hours of battery life on this model with normal usage.

As for the graphical department, we should point out that this isn't a gaming machine. Packing an Intel HD Graphics 520 GPU means that you'll be able to stream high definition content and even do some amateur video edition but you should not expect the performance of a dedicated graphics chip.

What else should I know?

Rounding up this review of the Acer Aspire ES1-572-31KW, we should point out the connectivity options. These are:

Ethernet port

DVD reader

SD Card reader

2 USB 2.0 ports

1 USB 3.0 port

1 HDMI port

There's also an HD webcam and you'll be pleased to know that WiFi works under the latest WiFi 802.11 ac standard which basically means you get a pretty good connection assuming you've got a compatible router. In case you've got a b/g/n router then you're not very likely to notice any difference whatsoever.

Overall, this is a pretty good machine that gives you great value for your money. Performance is way beyond that of an entry level model with a Celeron processor while its price point doesn't differ all that much from that kind of machines. We do recommend upgrading the RAM capacity as for any "serious use" we think that 8 GB is the minimum RAM required to be able to multitask comfortably. Other then that its a solid option.

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